The Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission is reminding citizens in historic districts – if you have plans for construction or improvements to your home, bring those plans before the commission before the work begins, not after.
It’s something that Linn County and the city have been getting better at flagging any homes that are part of historic districts to take that extra step before work can be completed.
At the Saturday, Nov. 5, meeting, the commission approved a certificate of no material effect for work to a key building in the Ash Park historic district in Mount Vernon after work was done.
The home at 610 Fifth Avenue North West is one of the key contributing buildings for the historical district, and the changes were to a window along the side of the building.
Homeowner Christian Andrews explained the installation of a window happened during the course of a bathroom remodel. He and his wife Mariah have lived in the home in the historic district since 2013.
Andrews explained that the window that was replaced was already different sized than windows at the front of the house and some of the windows along the same wall, a change that was there when they had originally bought the house.
The remodel of the bathroom was addressing some of the tile previously installed and moving the window was an effort to help with floor space in the bathroom for better use by the family. As part of the process, the window was lifted from its current space. In order to have the work approved as finalized by the Linn County building inspector, the window’s replacement had to be completed.
“We didn’t want a square window in that space, and we wanted to do what we could to be good caretakers of the home,” Andrews said. “We chose to go with a window from Pella that was a awning encasement window.”
Andrews, who had previously sold windows, knew what he was looking for in the replacement window.
Still, the work to the exterior should have triggered a reminder for the homeowners and Linn County building inspectors to inform historic preservation commission before proceeding.
Commissioner Guy Booth said that the Andrews had done everything correctly in the replacement of the window, and he understands how projects can snowball.
“The historic commission has jurisdiction on the exterior of the home and should have been consulted before this replacement happened,” Booth said.
Commissioner Duane Eash agreed, noting the commission wouldn’t have taken out the window if something had been done wrong, they just want homeowners in historic homes to begin discussions with the commission before improvements are made instead of after the fact to help them select more appropriate materials for windows.
Commissioner Wade Squires said because the window was a smaller size, that he agreed with the action Andrews had taken, as the window was already non-conforming from previous actions and the choice of encasement was similar to other windows on the building to not draw attention to the curb appeal.
Pre-construction meeting explores appropriate windowsThe pre-construction review meeting at the Saturday, Nov. 5, meeting gave homeowners options to look at in choosing to replace windows on the home. A permit has been applied for, but owner Shane Amundson is still looking at options for what materials and style of window will be used.
The house is another key building in the Ash Park Historic District.
The commission said they would provide Amundson contacts with contractors that could work with him on different options for the windows.
Amundson said he is looking to replace multiple windows in the project. Many of the windows have been previously painted shut or not easily openable, which is a safety issue the homeowners want to address.
“We aren’t looking to touch the larger windows or the stained-glass windows,” Amundson said. “The framing and wood surrounds for all of these windows look to be in excellent shape and we’re looking to keep them.
Chair Suzette Astley said they would recommend options that were intermediate in cost, and were looking to help Amundson find materials that were more durable for windows.
Amundson is to look at options and provide his choices to the board at a future meeting so they can determine what certificate the project adheres to.